Favoring a concubine and destroying the wife? I'll abandon my husband and children and wipe out

Upon hearing this, Lord Han understood: "You've already heard about it?"

The official hesitated and remained silent.

Lord Han's expression turned serious, which frightened the official into saying timidly, "Actually, last night I was having a drink with a friend at the Yiqing Courtyard. I heard a new girl singing a song, and she was singing lyrics by the young master of the Zhao family. But she said that a long time ago, a young man kindly gave her the lyrics to use as her own to stand out."

The officials realized that the young master of the Zhao family had problems with his academic performance. He and his friends drank too much and fell asleep there. When he woke up the next morning, he had missed the time for the apprenticeship banquet.

"Lord Han, I swear, I have absolutely not been involved with any philandering. Please don't impeach me... Lord Han!"

Lord Han had no time to pay him any attention and strode towards the front hall.

Upon entering, they saw the guests praising Zhao Ye and Zhao Shize, repeatedly exclaiming that Zhou Xiangru had taken on a good disciple and that Zhao Shize was fortunate to be able to become Zhou Xiangru's student. They were so eager that they seemed to have already seen Zhao Shize's future prospects and wanted to establish a good relationship with the Zhao family in advance.

However, this is based on the premise that Zhao Shize has problems.

Lord Han called out, "Lord Zhao, I am truly sorry for being late!"

His voice was so loud that it drowned out all the other sounds.

To everyone's eyes.

Zhao Ye greeted him with a smile: "It's not too late. It's better to arrive at the right time than to arrive early. The banquet will begin soon. I know that Lord Han is very busy, and I am already very pleased that you could take time out of your busy schedule to come."

Lord Han had no intention of exchanging pleasantries with him and went straight to the point: "Today is your son's apprenticeship banquet, which is a joyous occasion, but I have a question that I wonder if Lord Zhao can answer."

He stepped forward, took out the manuscript, placed it on the table, and turned to the page containing poems by Zhao Shize.

He said in a deep voice, "Why would your son's poem appear here? This book was printed and distributed before the poetry gathering, and the author is anonymous. Was it written by your son? If not, how does your son know about the poem here?"

Upon hearing this, there was complete silence, and everyone stared at Lord Han in astonishment.

Zhao Ye, Madam Zhao, Ye Ruyue, Zhao Shize, and Zhao Huaiyu were also stunned.

Zhou Xiangru was even more stunned.

"What manuscript?"

Cheng Nanzhi, who had been waiting for a long time, slightly curled the corners of her lips, then said coldly, "Lord Han, please be careful with your words. This concerns my son's reputation, so you must not speak recklessly!"

Lord Han said, "Madam will know at a glance."

Cheng Nanzhi immediately stepped forward and picked up the manuscript to look at it. Several busybodies also came closer and exclaimed in surprise, "It really is a copy of the young master Zhao's poems! The following few poems are too!"

Cheng Nanzhi looked at Zhao Ye and the others with a surprised expression: "Husband, what's going on? Did you take Ze Ge'er's article to make a copy before the poetry gathering? But didn't Ze Ge'er compose it on the spot at the poetry gathering?"

“Yes, how could a poem written on the spot be printed in advance? The existence of this manuscript proves that it was not written on the spot. Did this young master of the Zhao family write it in advance and pretend to write it on the spot at the poetry gathering?” someone said unconsciously.

But once those words were spoken, the atmosphere became even more tense.

The way everyone looked at Zhao Ye and his group was also subtle.

Zhou Xiangru's expression changed.

Zhao Ye and the others were still confused; they had never made a rubbing before.

Zhao Ye and Ye Ruyue subconsciously looked at each other. Before the poetry gathering, only they and Zhao Shize knew about those poems, but how could a child like Zhao Shize possibly have thought of making rubbings? It could only be one of them.

But when they met each other's questioning gazes, they instantly understood that neither of them had done anything.

Ye Ruyue's heart skipped a beat.

Those poems were brought from the modern world by her. There must be more than one time traveler, such as her, and others who just happen to make a living by selling poems.

Ye Ruyue panicked, but she tried her best to remain calm and not let anyone see anything amiss.

"Ye'er, what's going on?" Old Madam Zhao asked Zhao Ye in a low voice.

Zhao Shize didn't dare to look up and face the gazes of the crowd.

Zhao Ye believed that this matter concerned Zhao Shize. Ye Ruyue would not circulate the poem, so someone must have stolen it.

Zhao Ye's expression darkened. He was caught in a dilemma, but compared to his son being branded as a plagiarist, preparing poems in advance was a small matter.

"My son wrote down his poems while preparing for the poetry gathering and casually put them aside. They were stolen and sold for money by a servant with ill intentions!" Zhao Ye stated his conclusion decisively, then tried to find an excuse to explain why Zhao Shize had prepared the poems in advance.

But before he could speak, Cheng Nanzhi said, "That's right, my Ze-ge'er is not the kind of person who steals other people's poems!"

Cheng Nanzhi looked at Zhou Xiangru and said earnestly, "Mr. Zhou, we admit that we have long wanted you to teach Ze Ge'er, so we specially inquired about your whereabouts and asked Ze Ge'er to prepare well so that he could catch your eye. Although I have been away from home for three years to recuperate and have not raised Ze Ge'er much, I assure you that he is really a good child."

Cheng Nanzhi exposed their deliberate targeting of Zhou Xiangru in one fell swoop, and then quietly distanced herself from the situation.

She hadn't taught Zhao Shize in a long time, so what became of him was none of her business.

Zhou Xiangru's expression indeed darkened upon hearing this.

He thought his relationship with Zhao Shize was fate, but he never expected it to be a deliberate arrangement.

Wait a minute, it could be intentional, or it could all be fake!

Zhou Xiangru immediately stepped forward, snatched the manuscript, and flipped through a few pages. The more he read, the more his expression froze. He looked at Zhao Ye and the others and asked, "So you're saying that all of this was written by Zhao Shize?"

Zhao Ye and the others were complaining that Cheng Nanzhi didn't know how to speak, but upon hearing this, they immediately nodded in agreement.

Old Madam Zhao straightened her chest and said, "My grandson is so smart, how could he possibly need to steal from others?"

"That makes things much easier." Lord Han came up with a plan. "Since it was written by your son, he must be very familiar with it. If I mention it, it will be very easy for your son to answer it."

Everyone nodded in agreement.

"This..." Zhao Shize was at a loss and subconsciously looked to Zhao Ye for help.

Zhao Ye and Ye Ruyue panicked as well.

Those weren't done by Zhao Shize at all, how could they possibly match up!

But Old Madam Zhao confidently said, "Alright then, let's do it this way." This was yet another opportunity to show off how capable her grandson was, so why not take it?

Cheng Nanzhi smiled and agreed, "Ze-ge'er, your mother believes in you, so prove it to everyone."

Without a second thought, Zhao Shize stepped back, stammering, "But...but I don't think it's necessary..."

"The important thing now is not this manuscript, but to find out the traitor within my Zhao family!" Zhao Ye, quick-witted, immediately raised his voice to drown out Zhao Shize's, and bowed to Lord Han: "Thank you for your reminder today, Lord Han. After my family has investigated, I will give an explanation for this matter."

Old Madam Zhao was somewhat displeased with her son's actions and was about to say something when Ye Ruyue tugged at her sleeve forcefully. She was taken aback, and seeing Ye Ruyue giving her a meaningful look, her eyelids twitched involuntarily.

Cheng Nanzhi, displeased with them, frowned and said, "Husband, you mustn't. This matter is extremely important to Ze Ge'er's reputation. It is crucial to clarify immediately that Ze Ge'er was responsible. If we delay any longer, it will be detrimental to Ze Ge'er. We can put off catching the traitor for now. I will definitely seek justice for Ze Ge'er later."

Zhao Ye cursed Cheng Nanzhi inwardly, thinking that even if it caused controversy later, it was better than exposing Zhao Shize now.

“Madam, this is, after all, a family matter…” he tried his best to imply to Cheng Nanzhi.

Cheng Nanzhi, however, seemed not to understand and asked in confusion, "Husband, are your eyes twitching?"

In an instant, the front hall became so quiet you could hear a pin drop, and countless even more strange gazes turned towards it.

Zhao Ye almost choked.

Zhou Xiangru's face turned pale, realizing that Zhao Shize's talent was probably genuinely questionable.

If he persisted now, it would really damage his reputation... No, what if Zhao Shize really was a stupid fool? If he continued to teach him, it would truly ruin his reputation! At least now he could clear himself of the blame by deception!

Thinking of this, Zhou Xiangru's voice became a little stern: "Take the test now, I'll do it myself!"

Lord Han kindly said, "Lord Zhao, this matter is of utmost importance. If it is delayed, even if it is clarified later, people will inevitably think that your son has already read the manuscript and memorized it, which will not be convincing."

Zhao Ye was immediately caught in a dilemma, and cold sweat poured down his face.

Ye Ruyue and Madam Zhao were also extremely anxious.

Zhao Shize was trembling slightly, clutching Zhao Ye's clothes tightly.

Zhao Huaiyu then innocently said, "Brother, you are truly talented, why don't you take a test to prove yourself? Didn't you tell me the other day that you were very capable?"

Zhou Xiangru's expression turned even uglier, and he immediately turned the page to ask a question.